I always thought those facts made Snake Eyes the cooler and better figure to play with as a kid. Storm Shadow always boasted about his superior skills and cried foul about playing second fiddle in the ninja ranks to Snake Eyes. Not to mention that he was much more mysterious due to his fully covered black outfit and silent, brooding demeanor (Snakes Eyes never spoke). While both Storm Shadow and Snakes Eyes can be debated on until the end of time on which is better or a more desirable action figure, I had to rank Snake Eyes higher because this figure commands a little more money on the secondary market today (and because Snake Eyes was a tougher version of Storm Shadow and usually kicked his ass, as he was the only one that could). The detail, the accessories, the package art, everything! Kid's all across America wanted this toy so badly that they were willing to do chores for a week wholeheartedly to get it. Never in the history of toys can I remember an improvement from one version of a figure to the next that impacted the entire toy line so completely. Joe series Hasbro ever produced and it's mostly due to this legendary figure. Joe fourth series was the pinnacle of any G.I. Only one figure can claim to be greater than Storm Shadow and it's still debatable if it even is.Įverything I just said about Storm Shadow can be said about the second version of Snake Eyes (third if you include the straight-arm Snake Eyes from 1982, and then swivel-arm Snakes Eyes from 1983) released in the fourth G.I. He was that awesome, that desirable and that powerful. Even I had to succumb to this ninja's mighty elusiveness as a child as I was never able to get him and that trauma still haunts me even to this day. Never could a toy change the political climate of cliques in the hierarchy of power among American boys than the way Storm Shadow did. In school, if any kid was lucky enough to have him and bring him into "show and tell" that kid was instantly the most popular kid in school. He was the figure that you always dug for on the racks and prayed he was there (most likely he was already sold off). If you can think back to 1984, when this figure first appeared on the scene ninja's were the shit (and I mean "shit" in a good way) ! And Storm Shadow was the shittiest of the shits! This toy simply revolutionized and modernized how every kid viewed ninjas. He was first released as part of the third series in 1984, and no child was ever the same when they saw him or heard of his legend from other kids. There are very few figures in any toy line that can truly take the place of Storm Shadow from G.I. Slaughter with Triple "T" Tank on my birthday that summer. Although I never got the Mail-Away figure, I was lucky enough to convince my mom to get me the Sgt. Joe toy line because I was such a huge wrestling fan at the time and to see an actual wrestler as a G.I. Slaughter was the first "muscle-bound" figure and the first available as a mail-order from Hasbro Direct in early 1986 (he was also available on and off from 1987 through 1989), and then was officially part of the fifth series in 1986, packaged exclusively with the Triple "T" Tank (in two variants). Joe commercials from 1987 to 1990 (he was let go by Hasbro when he turned heel for the WWF). Joe cartoons, and served as the spokesman in G.I. Joe cartoons, filmed promotion spots and introductions to some of the G.I. In addition, he voiced his own character in the G.I. Slaughter was the first celebrity immortalized as a member of the G.I.
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